Accusation ThreeFreemasonry is controlled by the Illuminati

What is the Illuminati?

For upwards of 400 years some people have beleived that underpinning what appears to be the normal conventions of government in different states, there has been another, extremely powerful organization, committed to a one world government. The idea of the Illuminati first developed in Bavaria, thanks to the influence of a man by the name of Adam Weishaupt. Known as the Order of the Illuminati, Weishaupt's organization was founded in 1776. Adam Weishaupt, whose date of birth is not known, was a professor of canon law at the University of Ingolstadt.

About the First Illuminati

Originally this Bavarian version of the Illuminati had only five members, though in time numbers grew somewhat. The organization was built on Masonic lines, though it was never directly allied to Freemasonry. It contained three 'classes' each of which had a number of degrees and members took a vow to obey their superiors in the organization. Two of the earliest influential members of the Illuminati were Ferdinand of Brunswick and a high powered diplomat called Xavier von Zwack. Membership grew rapidly because the so-called 'Enlightenment' was spreading like wild fire across Europe and intellectuals in particular wanted to be part of it. According to its founders the Illuminati had upwards of 2,000 members within 10 years of being founded.

What the Illuminati Believed

The true aims and objectives of the Illuminati remained something of a mystery (probably even to most of its own members). A great deal more time and effort was spent in trying to educate members into the ways of the group than was ever spent on any cohesive plan to change the world. Clearly Illuminism was against the power of the Catholic Church, though in many respects it organized itself very much in the same way its supposed arch enemy - the Jesuits were structured.At various times it was either stated, or believed, that the Illuminati sought to break down the barriers of state and nationhood, in order to gain control of the whole world. However, the actual notion of a one world government is a more recent phenomenon and though the existence of the original Illuminati scared the hell out of certain leaders and political parties from time to time, it was mostly ineffectual.

Did the Illuminati Survive?

The original version of the Illuminati broke down under the weight of infighting and because of pressure from anti-Illuminati leaders in Central Europe. It disappeared in 1785, but re-emerged a little later, when it tried to convince its members to enlist as many Freemasons to the cause as proved to be possible. One of its leaders, Karl Gotthelf von Hund, claimed that he had for many years been in touch with higher authorities of Illuminism from the upper eschellons of Freemasonry, but no such agencies were ever named or produced. By 1790 the original Illuminati was on the run, having been banned by the authorities in several different countries. Numerous searches took place and certain documents were found. It is suggested that most of the junior members of the Illuminati were aonly interested in the organization because it might offer preferment to better positions if it genuinely gained any power. In 1797 and 1798 books by Augustin Barreul and John Robinson both suggested that the Illuminati had survived all its problems and that it still existed. It was even claimed that the French Revolution and the Unites States war against Britain has been instigated by the Illuminati, though no 'real' proof was ever forthcoming. The Illuminati effectively disappeared from the realms of the credible at the start of the 19th century, though it became a sort of skeleton in the cupboard in successive decades, especially at times when Freemasonry was under attack in one state or another. Associating Freemasonry with the Illuminati in the modern era is fraught with difficulty, mainly because there is no evidence that the Illuminati even exists. However, there is one modern yearly happening that has led some researchers to believe that the Illuminati does still exist, albeit under a different name. Somehow Freemasonry has become attached to this phenomenon, which is known as the Bilderberg Group.